Return of Angelus
by Fireworks8725
Summary: Darla and Angelus never had souls when they were with each other, but how does he feel when Darla ends up with Lindsey? Angel tries to find a way to get Darla back and destroy Lindsey and Wolfram & Hart forever, with help from Angelus. [Edited]
1. Enemies

Chapter 1

"I just killed myself a slayer!" Spike said proudly to his family of Dru, Darla, and Angelus.

Angelus was preoccupied with a lifeless corpse that he was kicking to the side.

He liked it when he had the glory. He didn't like when Spike took the proverbial lights and shine from him.

"Let's move along. There's no more life here, we are wasting our time with dead bodies." Angelus said bitterly in his loose Irish accent that stayed with him after all those years.

"Don't run too fast Angelus...I still smell fear...Grandmummy, look behind that door." Drusilla slurred in her whimsically crazy way.

Spike held her waist and grinned in a devilish way.

Darla pulled a wooden door off it's loose hinges to show a woman crouching in fear.

"Look at that!" Spike said.

Darla advanced on the girl, then pulled her up, and threw her at Dru.

"She's yours pet, you found her." She said. "Maybe you can share with Angelus, he seems a little hungry."

Angelus bared his teeth and the girl screamed until her lungs gave up.

Darla beamed.

"That's my Angelus. There's a good boy." She said as Dru and Angelus eviscerated the girl as she weakly struggled.

The year was 1898. Darla and Angelus sat in someone else's house, relishing in their scandals.

"Angelus, I got you a present..." Darla said as she exposed the gypsy girl tied up under a cloth.

"Oh Darla, you shouldn't have." Angelus said with a smooth, yet fake kindness he used on everyone.

After he lay the gypsy girl to waste, Darla and Angelus indulged in a dangerous playfulness that followed them around wherever they went.

Too soon after their deed was done, were wheels of an evil law firm in motion.

Angelus was cursed with a soul, and Darla shunned him. The once powerful fear that he and Darla had shared, was gone forever.

Now on a path for his life's atonement, the now named Angel lives in L.A. He lived in the same hotel room at the Hyperion Hotel since the 50's. No one bothered him because they were scared of what kind of creature he could be.

He had no human contact and left his room only to collect a supply of animal blood that was delivered every week to the hotel for him.

It was now the year 2000, and although the hotel had closed years before, he continued to brood in his solitary confinement.

He didn't realize that there were people alive who knew who he was, what he was. They were watching him. He was important for them but even they were unsure why.

Lindsey McDonald and Lilah Morgan were often at each others throats. They represented, each in their own right, what Wolfram & Hart stood for. They loathed working together, and were often made to do so. They had but one similar case. Bringing Angelus to their side. But Angelus was gone, overshadowed by the soul inhabiting his body.

Both Lilah and Lindsey had their own plans for making Angel lose his grip on reality, and have the long lost Angelus resurface.


	2. Living Situations

Chapter 2

"That's my boy, my Angelus." Darla said.

Angel was in deep dreaming, lying in the same spot he had every night for over 30 years.

He often dreamt of Darla and where she could be now. He never loved her, he couldn't have, for the lack of a soul. Now that he had a soul he had time to wonder if he did love her, or if she had given him another chance once he got the soul, if he would have loved her.

He woke up in a sweat from another night of eventful Darla nightmares.

He sat up and looked around. Sometimes he was shocked to find a plain hotel room surrounding him as opposed to a wrecked village in the midst of the Boxer Rebellion.

He spent so long, sitting, brooding, not entertained by his own company. He needed to get out.

The sun was setting, so he indulged himself in a bit of a walk.

Halfway down the street he realized he was being followed. He acted like he didn't sense anything and then trapped his follower in an alley.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" He said in a hoarse, unused voice.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lindsey McDonald, Head of Special Projects, Wolfram & Hart. And you sir, are our 'Special Project."

Angel didn't know how to answer that, but he readied his fist in his sleeve.

"I hope we meet again sometime real soon." Lindsey said and walked away calmly and unscathed from the alley.

Angel decided to find a library and do a little research on his new 'friends" at Wolfram & Hart.

Lindsey hailed his driver, and a company car pulled up beside him and brought him back to Wolfram & Hart.

Once in the building he had to draw out a report on that evenings meeting with Angel and send it over to the CEO of the L.A branch of the company, Holland Manners.

Lilah, his Co-Head of special projects, caught up with him on his way to his office.

"So, Lindsey, how was your run in with Dr. Brood N' Bite?"

"None of your business Lilah, this is my side of the case."

"I understand that, but I need to know what I'm working with here. You are the first person to actually speak with him and see him up close in Devil knows how long!" Lilah said in a plain, yet business like tone. She looked at Lindsey, expecting some kind of an answer.

"Go away Lilah." He said with an expressionless face as they came to his office and he slammed the door in her face.

She sighed and put on her happy face for passerby's in Wolfram & Harts' dimly lit corporate hallways from Hell.

Angel wasn't exactly 'phased' that he was being followed by an evil law firm. It gave him something to do. He stayed in the library until it closed at 10 pm, and he retreated back to his hotel room.

He opened the door to find that it had been ransacked.

Not that he had many belongings, but what he did have was scattered along the floor and tabletops.

"What could they POSSIBLY be looking for?" He said to himself.

"Not so much looking for, as researching for." A woman's voice said.

"Two new friends in one day, aren't I lucky." He said. "Let me guess, Wolfram & Hart?"

"That would be right. We got plans for you Angelus." She said.

"Who are you supposed to be? And I'm not Angelus."

"The name's Lilah." She said as she glided towards the door, and added under her breath, "And, you will be."

The next few days went undisturbed, if you call numerous dreams about Darla, not disturbing. He had never dreamt about her so much. It was almost like she was there with him, night after night.

Over at Wolfram & Hart, the core of their plans came to a boil. Lindsey and Lilah, as well as about 12 other random members of the firm stood around a small cage with a blonde girl inside.

She was screaming at them.

"How dare you cage me! Don't you know who I am!?" She sputtered.

"Be quiet Darla." Lilah said and handed Lindsey the key to her cage.

"As much as I know I'm going to regret saying this...here it goes, she's under your watch now. What you do with her is none of the firms concern, as long as it works towards our big picture." She said.

Lindsey nodded solemnly and waited for everyone to leave the room before unlocking the cage.

Darla didn't exit right away, unsure what their strategy was.

Spotting her uncertainty, Lindsey smiled warmly, something he rarely did.

"It's okay, take your time." He said.

"What makes you think I won't kill you when I come out?" She asked.

"Go ahead."

Confused by his words she stepped out anyways. He then led her to his office where he offered her living arrangements.

"I don't want to stay here. These people want to watch me."

He eyed her suspiciously, and somehow trustingly and invited her to stay in his apartment.

Without answering she left the room, assuming he knew to follow and lead the way to his place.

Upon entering Lindsey's apartment, Darla felt common.

"This room is so...small. It feels like lonliness..." She said while trailing the shelves with her fingers.

"I will not stay here. I don't belong here. I will return only at night, and only if I chose."

Lindsey nodded.

That night, Angel was sitting in front of a food store when he saw a parked limo across the street from him.

"Not them again." He said to himself, assuming that he was being followed by Wolfram & Hart once more.

He got up and started to go towards the car, but then the door opened and a blonde woman ran away, not looking back once.

"Darla?" He mouthed.

Darla panicked when she saw Angel across the street. She wasn't looking for a confrontation. He wouldn't hurt her...but in any case, he was stronger than her.

She didn't understand why, but without thinking her feet led her straight to Lindsey's apartment. She had been given the freedom to roam wherever she wished...and yet she went back to Lindsey.

Before opening the door she thought, "What am I doing? I'm drinking pig's blood and living with a human whom I have no intention of eating. What have they done to me?"

She opened the door to find the room empty.

"Lindsey?" She said softer than she had intended to.

No one was there.

Feeling oddly alone, she laid down on a bed and put her thoughts to rest.

Both Angel and Darla had the same dreams that night.

Darla awoke by falling off the bed. Lindsey rushed over to her , and she just barely stopped herself from reaching out to him to lift her up.

She got up on her own and acted like nothing happened.

She noticed that there were blankets on the couch.

Lindsey had to sleep on the couch because Darla had claimed the bed while he was still at work.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch. I don't mind you taking the bed. I don't expect I'll be here much longer anyway." She said.

Lindsey nodded.

That evening Darla found herself out on the town again, and felt out of place. She felt weak, so to help her mentality, she attacked a shopkeeper that was closing up for the night and ate him. Now she felt better.

She then went back to Lindsey's house.

"I don't want to be here." She thought. "But, he likes me, I can tell, I'll just stay tonight so he can get over his dreams of being with me."

She claimed the bed once again, and thought nothing of it. Lindsey came in a couldn't decide what to do. He finally resolved to the bed. He didn't realize that she had been watching him making his decision.

"How gentlemanly of you to suss it out in your head first before jumping into bed with a defenseless lady guest." She said with her eyes still closed.

He glanced over at her, and then let himself fall asleep.

Angel was thrashed with visions of Darla, worse than before. Then when he thought it had all stopped, he saw Darla in bed with Lindsey. He woke up suddenly and fire shown in his eyes.

That afternoon, he used the sewers to get into Wolfram & Hart. He easily found his way to Lindsey's office, while people panicked around him at seeing him in the middle of the day.

He swung open Lindsey's door to find him alone.

"Nice entrance." Lindsey said, barely glancing up from his unnecessary paperwork.

Angel ran up to Lindsay and forcefully ripped Lindsay out of his chair and against the wall.

"Easy there Cowboy." Lindsey said calmly.

"I was just going to say the same to you." Angel said menacingly.

Lindsey looked at him, puzzled.

"What are you doing with Darla?" Angel said with an extra slam into the wall.

"I'm not DOING anything with Darla. She's staying with me temporarily." Lindsey said.

Angel obviously didn't accept that answer and punched the lawyer in the face.

Lindsey sat on the floor, bleeding, but not phased.

Angel was fuming. How could Darla chose Lindsey over him? He had a soul too didn't he? Why was he better?

Angel almost hoped he would get the dreams again just so he could have another excuse to go beat up Lindsey.

But Lilah was already creating one. For her it was a win/win situation.

Getting rid of Angel and Lindsey at the same time.


	3. Confrontations and Messy Souls

Chapter 3

Lindsey left work early because everyone was asking him questions about Angel's impromptu visit and attack. Once he got home he found Darla sitting at the kitchen table throwing tacks at the wall. He disregarded this, and went to the bathroom sink to patch up his bruised eye and bloody lip. Darla noticed that he had come in, and quietly followed him to the bathroom. He put his arms on the side of the sink in thought. Darla watched him and spotted the deep blue/purple of his eye. Shee took a deep intake of air that expressed her shock. Her hand shot up to her mouth to cover up the sound, and she caught herself, noting the breath that she hadn't realized she took. This made Lindsey notice she was there.

"Hey Darla. Anything interesting happen today?" He asked, as if nothing of interest had happened to him that afternoon. "You're back early, do you usually mope around my apartment when I'm not here?" He laughed.

Ignoring his questions he asked, "Did Angel do that to you?"

He stopped laughing.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You."

"Oh."

This small exchange seemed to explain everything.

She hated having such mortal feelings, and not being able to explain why. She often thought to herself while Lindsey was away, "Am I human, do I have a soul? Am I still me?" She wondered now more than ever, because after seeing Lindsey's battered face, she wanted to find Angel and do the same to him.

Darla lowered her head. Lindsey looked over at her, not wanting her to take the blame for what happened to him. He especially hoped that she wouldn't leave in order to stop Angel from striking again.

Interrupting both of their trains of thought, Darla joined him at the sink and helped him tend to his bruises.

Angel was furious. People following him, destroying his room, and Lindsey sharing a bed with Darla. Why did he leave his room in the first place? His soul was driving him mad. Cooped up on his own "atoning" day and night. Would it ever end? What was the point? In a rage he grabbed his jacket and left his room once more.

At Wolfram & Hart, Lilah was deviously plotting against Lindsey's plans. Using the same system they used to make Angel see that Darla was staying with Lindsey, Lilah made an alteration. She smiled to herself and was so very happy with her plan she could have very well kissed herself at that point.

That night, as Lindsey fell asleep he rested his head on Darla's lap, and she held a cold cloth to his bruises. With his eyes closed she looked down at him, her hands trailing up and down his face. She ran her fingers through his short hair, imagining how he might look with longer hair. She leaned her head back, onto the cushions behind her, and they both slept peacefully, it seemed for the first time in a long while.

Angel tossed and turned that night, haunted with more thoughts of Lindsey and Darla together, sharing moments that he himself never got to have with her, as they were both soulless during their time together. Angel was unsure if Darla had a soul thrusted upon her, or if she was being her usual deceitful, lying self to make him miserable. This night, Lilah's scheme would take place. Among the sights of Darla and Lindsey in Angel's dreams that night, Lilah sent a faux meeting of herself and Lindsey in his apartment. She was not proud of this documentation, and hoped it would never reflect true events.

Angel saw Lindsey and Lilah pushed up against Lindsey's bedroom door.

Confused in his doze, Angel continued to watch what his closed eyes could barely believe.

More so, he couldn't see past the cheap trick, and was lead to believe that Lindsey was lying to Darla, and sleeping with Lilah right under her nose!

Hardened by years of solitude, and envious with his only woman friend, ever, being with the enemy, and then apparently being cheated on, he woke up in a vicious stream of madness.

He was slowly driving himself crazy.

As Lilah tracked his progress that night, she laughed with an untold giddiness that was severely irregular for a lawyer of any kind. She closed up the computers and drove over to Lindsey's house, where she knew something would be happening of great interest to her, very shortly.

Lindsey and Darla were blissfully unaware of what was coming to them.

Angel wanted to beat the Hell out of Lindsey, and scream his frustrations out at Darla. He wanted to find Lilah and smack her over the head with a candlestick. He had a general dislike for her, even before seeing that she aided in making Darla the 'other woman'.

Now, Angel walked to Lindsey's apartment in a fury and rush while Lilah drove in a state that was calm and collected.

Angel smashed open the door with a strength that he had kept hidden for decades. A strength he hadn't needed to use.

Startled by the sudden disturbance, Lindsey sat up and Darla's eyelids burst open, and her heart filled with panic. It was then she noticed that her heart was beating, because it was pounding with such urgency. It seemed so loud to her, and she filled up with dread that someone could hear it thrashing around at such a pace.

In the commotion of Angel storming in, she didn't realize that she grabbed on to Lindsey. Frightened by this new discovery she attempted to pry loose, and couldn't make herself let go.

Without speaking, Angel took one look at Lindsey and Darlas cozy couch situation and grabbed Lindsey's throat so forcefully that he was ripped loose from Darla's clutches, and pinned to the ceiling by his grip.

"Angel! Stop it!! Darla screamed, unable to control herself.

"This is who you chose! This pathetic loser of a lawyer! He lies for a living and here you are...and what about Lilah!" Angel declared.

"What about Lilah!" Lindsay managed as his face turned purple.

"Stop! He needs to breathe unlike...us!" Darla said quickly. She didn't want Angel to know about her heart situation.

"I know that you're sleeping with Lilah! I saw it! Just like I saw you with Darla! Not only do you use her, you cheat on her!" He said, referencing to Darla.

Darla's face filled with hurt and confusion. Noticing Lindsey's slowly fleeting consciousness, she kicked Angel in the crotch, and he backed away only slightly, letting his grip of Lindsey subside and allowed Lindsey to tumble to the floor.

"How is that even possible! Lilah is tricking you! Darla is here all day, she's a sharp girl, I think she would notice if I was banging my most hated coworker in the room beside her." Lindsey said rubbing his neck.

Ignoring Lindsey, he turned to Darla.

"How could you protect him..after everything we did together."

"You aren't the same person you were then, and we all know it. You can't deny it to me. You can deny everyone else, but you can't fool me. I made you, and I disposed of you long ago." Darla said bitterly.

Angel showed no hurt in his eyes.

He lifted his arm and effortlessly threw Lindsey across the room.

"You want Angelus? You got him." Then he let the demon that had been sleeping inside him, swallow him up.

From the doorway where Lilah had been watching she opened her phone and started walking back to her car.

"Holland, he's back."


End file.
